Akumabarai
by Lilbakasaru
Summary: Down to earth Dectective Uchiha Sasuke's life changes when he's suddenly thrust into a world of the supernatural and eerie all to keep a blonde haired, blue eyed boy safe. What is the link between this kid and a cults murder spree spreading through downtown Shibuya, and his own past tragedy. SASU/NARU yaoi
1. The Bloody Room

_A new Fic I'm hoping this to have a dark supernatural feel to it, kinda inspired by watching a lot of Hannibal. This idea has been floating around in my mind for a while and I wanted to finally put it out there!_

_I hope you all enyoy, betaed by Kuro Mitsu._

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the character from the Naruto universe, simply borrowing them.****  
**

**WARNING: Contains murder, mystery, plenty of death, graphic scenes, and yoai**

* * *

Chapter one: The Bloody Room

_It was the same dream over and over again, as soon as he was in that dark room again he knew what was going to happen._

_There was a dark shadow growing around him, it was thick and suffocating. But the matter seemed to change, going in and out of a gaseous and liquid state. He would try and fight against it but it was like trying to move through goo. It was thick and black like tar, it covered his face and hands, keeping him immobile, then it travelled further up, the icy-cold viscous fluid covering his body. He tried to scream but no sound came out because the blackness covered his head and travelled down his throat._

When Uchiha Sasuke woke up with a started gasp, his breathing was heavy and ragged, a sheen of sweat covering his forehead. The half-empty bottle in his hand dropped with a heavy thump against the hard wooden floor, spilling some of its contents on the ground. Sasuke cursed and sat up on his couch looking at the mess surrounding him. Once again he woke up surrounded by a bunch of empty whisky bottles, a bad hangover, and a sour taste in his mouth. He wondered how his life had ended up like this.

He'd had a pretty good childhood, his family had been a prestigious old shinto sect, but he never believed in the priestly duties that his parents, and the rest of the branch family, were so committed to. He had been young, but he did understand one thing: the work his parents did made a lot of money. He would watch as important CEO's, council men, and Diet members all would come in for blessings from his father and prayers from his mother.

Although as the second born he never had any real involvement in the family business, no, that burden fell on the shoulders of his older brother, Uchiha Itachi. Sasuke had always wondered if that's what made him snap in the end. Itachi had been 10 when the training started. If he wasn't in school, he was training with father day and night. Sasuke never knew what he had to endure, but noticed the change. Itachi's vibrant personality faded, he didn't smile, he had deep bags under his eyes; at times he would simply sit there staring blankly at a scripture for hours, not sleeping or eating.

No one else in the family seemed to notice his distress. Until about 5 years after, during his first ritual, that behind closed doors he massacred the whole family.

Sasuke had been at school, when he had been called out during the middle of class and brought home seeing a row of ambulances and his older brother being put in the back of a police car in cuffs. He had been covered in blood.

Everything had been a blur after that; his Uncle Obito, the head of a branch family, took care of the funeral and the family business until Sasuke came of age. But he wanted nothing to do with that side of his family. He distanced himself from the Uchiha name, and pursued a career in law enforcement. He worked hard and by 28 he was detective in the 1st division of the criminal justice bureau. After what happened to his family he wanted to prevent anything like that happening again to someone else.

Yet life keeps handing him lemons, Sasuke was barraged by nightmares constantly. Pills didn't work, so he turned to booze, which worked a treat, although it did leave him with a sick fuzzy taste in his mouth. With a groan he got up from his chair, looking at the dozen empty bottles scattered over his coffee table in disgust. It was still late; looking at the digital clock he saw that it was nearly 2 a.m. So still late.

The raven rubbed his hand over his face, feeling the rough bristles across his chin; his weekend binge never left him at his best. So even though he should probably try to catch some more sleep, he didn't think he could. What he really needed right now was a shower, a shave, and some strong black coffee. Slowly Sasuke staggered into the bathroom. Letting his already rumpled clothes fall where he went he braced himself against the tiled wall of his shower, and put it on.

A dissatisfied hiss left him as the cold water dripped over his head and his heated skin, his muscles feeling sore and tense which made him wonder what he did the night before during one of his benders. Shower done, he got out and wiped away the steam on his mirror to have a look at his grizzled face. Deep bruised circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, his pale face looking even paler, and dark brush of stubble across his chin.

With a weary sigh, he picked up his toothbrush and paste and started brushing his teeth, and lathered his face and shaved. He dressed swiftly and then went to pick up his phone from the charging cradle, two messages already displaying on the screen. The first a voice mail he pressed on, instantly regretting it when a shrill voice whined through the speakers.

"Hi Sasuke-kun, it's me Sakura, I had a great time last night. We should do it again sometime, call me!"

"Shit," he hissed, instantly deleted the message and blocked the number. He had forgotten that he went to that bar where Sakura worked. She'd had a crush on him for over a year, and he had avoided her like the plague, but yesterday he must have been drunker than he thought if he did… stuff… with her. Not that he could remember anything. Sasuke thought he would be sick.

He focused on the other message which was a text, simply telling him that he had to hurry over to a crime scene, asap. And not to have any breakfast. Quickly he grabbed his coat, making sure to holster his weapon before leaving his one bedroom apartment to get inside his car and drive over to the crime scene. It was all the way in Kubukichi, it was a place filled with night clubs and bars, but it was a very seedy area and every building was probably a front for either a prostitution ring or a drug den. So hearing that there was a crime scene there didn't come as a surprise to him at all.

Using his sirens he cut through the traffic very quickly and arrived at the crime scene in under 15 minutes. He got out of his car and slammed the door shut behind him, striding towards the building where a few police officers and forensic scientist were going in and out of. The building was old, most likely abandoned, but there were probably a few squatters living in there that might still be there if they hadn't already been chased out by the police presence. A ring of yellow police tape surrounded the building with an officer standing guard by the entrance.

Sasuke went over to him and showed him his badge before he was let in. He was told to go up to the top floor, and the building had at least four stories. There was a box of disposable booties where he took out a protective covering and put it on over his shoes. As soon as he stepped through the threshold he was met by the smell of blood that hit him, this place was saturated with it. A quick look around the narrow hallway, he first noticed that all the walls were filled with graffiti, but amongst them in a stark red were symbols drawn in blood. Each marked by the crime techs and being photographed for evidence. He walked around them up the narrow stairs, dodging one particular police officer who barged past him to throw up outside.

"Rookies…" he murmured under his breath with a smirk.

He reached the top floor and picked up a face mask from a tech's case and held it to his face with his hand. The stench was stronger here, he could almost taste the copper in the air; one glance around the hallway again and he saw that the same symbols that were downstairs were all over these walls too. Sasuke walked towards the open door, his dark eyes widening when he saw the whole room covered in blood, more strange symbols drawn on the walls and even more covering the ground. He didn't think there could be so much blood in a body. In the middle of the room was a dead woman, naked, with her chest cut open from top to bottom. Her chest pried open to expose the organs inside, or rather the fact that her organs were missing.

They were simply dumped beside the body as if they were trash. No wonder that cop just ran out of the room at the sight of this.

His supervisor Sarotobi Asuma was already in the room; when he saw him he beckoned him inside with an urgent wave. "You're late Uchiha, get in here," he said with a gruff voice. Asuma was a chain-smoking wiseass, he was generally an easygoing man who didn't let anything faze him. Even now in this kind of disaster zone the man didn't look that fazed; but after nearly 20 years on the force the man must have seen some things.

"Crime scene tech has already finished photographing everything and bagged evidence, we're just waiting for the coroner to release the body."

Sasuke nodded and looked around. "What do you think this is?"

Asuma gave a thoughtful hum. "Some sort of ritualistic killing, maybe a cult, still pretty fresh. Seems like they were disturbed."

"Plenty of those going around," the raven mumbled under his breath. "Do we have an I.D at least?"

Asuma nodded taking out a clear evidence bag from his trench coat pocket, "We found her wallet." He reached inside with his gloved hands and took out her wallet, opened it and took out something. "Her driver's licences was inside, her name was Yugito Nii, 27 years old, she was a tai chi instructor."

Sasuke leaned in a bit to get a better look at the picture. She was pretty, with dirty blonde hair and dark brown almost feline looking eyes. Nothing like the dead mutilated woman lying in front of him.

"Who reported it?" he asked.

The older detective shrugged, "It was an anonymous tip, it was originally reported as a noise complaint. The two officers were expecting some sort of rave, what they found however…" he trailed off.

"Cough, cough."

The older man gave a throaty chuckle, "I think our coroner is here."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow and 'hned' then turned and looked towards the doorway where a weary man slouched his way through. He was pale, almost sickly so, his drab brown hair almost coming down to his sleep deprived eyes. He was a thin man with an almost greasy appeal, a mask covering the lower half of his face into which he was continuously coughing into.

"Good to see you Hayate, still fighting that cold?" Asuma joked.

Hayate simply waved him away and went to inspect the body, coughing all the while. He reached inside his kit bag and snapped on a pair of gloves and got to work. He examined the pile of organs on the ground with a hum, writing something down on his chart before turning to the body. "I think 'cough, cough' that we can establish 'cough' that this is foul play 'cough, cough'."

"Cause of death?" Asuma asked.

"Can't say 'cough, cough, cough' exactly, the medical examiner 'cough' will have to verify it. 'cough' But there is 'cough' something odd 'cough, cough, cough,' here," he finished. Slowly he leaned over her and pulled her eyelids up and Sasuke was surprised to see that there was nothing there.

Someone took her eyeballs out.

Asuma cursed under his breath, and Sasuke felt his stomach turn. He had seen some stuff but this was very different. He turned to his supervisor. "Were there any witnesses?"

The detective rubbed his head in frustration, "Maybe… he might have also been another victim. We found a kid in the room next door, he was unconscious, so we took him to the Okubo hospital to be monitored."

"There was a kid in here?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

Asuma nodded. "We don't know if he took part in any of this, but he did have the same markings that are on the walls all over his body."

Sasuke couldn't help but cough, "All over?"

"He was lying there naked, it was hard miss…" the bearded man sighed.

Hayate coughing diverted their attention back to the sickly man. "I'm done here 'cough, cough', I'll have 'cough, cough' the body taken to the medical examiner 'cough'. Which of you two 'cough' is riding with 'cough, cough' the body?"

"I will," Asuma raised his hand, then he turned to Sasuke. "You'll go to the hospital and keep an eye on the kid, you stay with him no matter what." Sasuke nodded, already hating that he was put on babysitting duty.

He said his goodbyes to the other two men, when he left the building he disposed of his mask and booties in a bio hazard bag. He got in the his car and drove to Okubo hospital, it was in a nicer part of Kubukichi; at least here Sasuke didn't have to worry about his car being stolen. He parked and went inside the large building, making his way to the reception. The nurse behind the counter looked up when he approached and a blush bloomed on her face at the sight of him. Not wanting to prolong the invevitable he quickly took his badge out and showed it to her.

"I'm Detective Uchiha, a young man was brought in a few hours ago, I need to see him."

"Uh, eh… oh, of course! Yes uh… he is in room… 19!" she said triumphantly, but by the time she looked up from her screen Sasuke was gone.

He hurried over to the room where an officer was standing guard, he showed the man his badge and went inside the room. A doctor was inside looking over a chart; slowly he turned around when he heard Sasuke entering. He was an elderly man with a kind face, his black hair peppered grey, and the start of wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. He wore a large white over coat and a clipboard in hand.

"You must be officer…"

"_Detective_ Uchiha, I came here about the patient," he said looking at the kid sleeping on the bed.

"Well detective, the patient did wake up for a while, but when he did he was hysterical. He screamed, shouted, and nearly attacked one of the nurses, so we had to sedate and restrain him."

Sasuke noticed the restraints around his arms and legs that kept him tied to the grate of the bed. He had to wonder how bad it had gotten that they had to do that to him. He looked maybe around 20, with light blonde hair, his skin was lightly tanned and smooth, and over his cheeks there were three light whisker-like scars. He looked innocent and small in the large hospital bed. While he had been watching the little blonde the doctor had been going on about him.

"…His blood work came back, he was pumped with a lot of heavy narcotics that might have caused the psychosis. Also, except for a few superficial injuries the main concern I have is this fresh tattoo on his stomach."

"A tattoo?"

The doctor nodded and reached over to the blonde kid and just slightly lifted part of his gown to reveal a whirlpool tattoo covering nearly his whole abdomen. It looked red and inflamed as if it had been freshly applied on, did those cult freaks actually tattoo some innocent kid?

"We gave him a tetanus jab and have him on antibiotics, the sedative we gave him should leave his system in another hour."

"What about those scars on his cheeks?"

The doctor turned to look at them, and then shook his head. "They're old, possibly a childhood injury, I need to check on my other patients but you are more than welcome to stay, detective."

"Thank you, doctor."

The older man nodded, put the chart back in its tray and left the room. Sasuke sighed heavily; it was a long day and it wasn't even 4 o'clock yet. He needed some strong coffee and maybe a muffin. He looked back to the kid; he was still asleep, and the doctor said that he wouldn't be up for another few hours, so after talking to the officer outside he found the cafeteria and picked up something to eat and then went back to the room. He opened the door and was surprised when he saw that the kid was already awake. Shouldn't those drugs have knocked him out longer?

The blonde seemed stable enough, now that his eyes were open Sasuke could see that they were a bright blue. He was staring blankly out of the open window, not even registering that another person had entered the room. Sasuke put his stuff down on the table and walked towards the bed and reached out towards the kid, but before he even touched him the blonde turned to look him.

"Where am I?"

"You are in the hospital," Sasuke answered.

The blonde gave a slow nod and then looked down at his restrains. "…And these?" he asked, trying to shake his hands, the restraints making a jingling noise.

"You had a panic attack when you first woke up, and they had to restrain you."

"Oh…"

Sasuke couldn't help but arch an eyebrow by how unperturbed the blonde seemed. He reached out for a chair and brought it closer to the bed so that he could sit beside the bed.

"I haven't introduced myself yet; I'm detective Uchiha Sasuke and I've come to see how you are, do you remember anything that happened?"

The blonde man paused, "I don't know, it's kinda hazy…"

Sasuke sighed and sat up straight, he took out a notepad and a pen from his pocket, "Let's start out slow, tell me your name first and occupation."

"Uzumaki Naruto, I just graduated from Joshiba University and… I guess I'm unemployed," he said with a throaty chuckle.

Sasuke nodded and wrote down the information, the kid went to art school, no wonder he was unemployed. "Do you remember what happened to you yesterday night?"

The smile dropped from the blonde's face, he shook his head. "I don't really know… I was finishing up some shopping and then… it's all blank," he trailed off, looking back out the window. "What happened to me?"

"I was actually hoping you could tell me that," he said, and leaned back in his chair. "You were found unconscious in the same place where a woman was murdered."

The blonde froze, his blue eyes widening in fear he turned to Sasuke in absolute shock. "Did I do something, did I hurt this woman? "he asked barely above a whisper.

The Uchiha shook his head, "I can't say anything about that, but to me it looked like you might have been next."

This news did nothing to calm the blonde down, instead now he was even more fearful. The heart rate monitor beside him started to beep louder and quicker as Naruto got even more panicked. "Someone is out to kill me?!" he shouted, trying to sit up on the bed but the restraints keeping him down, which did not help his situation at all. He breathing was starting to get ragged and Sasuke realised that he was hyperventilating.

"Hey calm down!" Sasuke stood up and went towards the kid, ready to hold him down, but then some nurses came in pushing past Sasuke to hold down the screaming boy. A doctor came soon after with a needle and Sasuke could only watch as they administered some sort of sedative inside his IV line, and after a few seconds the blonde soon fell asleep.

After checking on his restraints and that he hadn't injured himself anymore, the nurses left the blonde sleeping. Sasuke once again was left alone with the sleeping kid; with a heavy sigh he now picked up his nearly cold cup of coffee and took a swig, cringing at the horrible aftertaste. Now he had to wait all over again for the kid, Naruto, to wake up. He didn't expect him to have such a bad reaction, but then how was anyone supposed to react when they're told that someone was trying to kill them?

Sasuke turned back to his chair and took out his phone, sending a quick message to Asuma. It looked like he would be here for a while.

* * *

_So what do you think? Love? Hate? Would you like me to continue?_

_Review and join the dark side we have cookies!_


	2. Speculations

_Chapter 2, took a while longer then I expected. It's been a difficult few months so much work, I feel like I'm going to get buried under it all. But finally I got this chapter out. Pain in the arse I tell ya! The mystery deepens, and it will just keep on going._

_Beta read by Kuro Mitsu!_

* * *

Chapter 2: Speculations

Asuma walked down the wide hallways to the medical examiner's office, he had to fill out some paperwork about the crime scene and now he was late for his appointment. Kurenai did not like tardy people. He walked through the double doors and saw a long dark-haired woman standing in scrubs with her back turned to him. She turned when she heard him come in; Yuuhi Kurenai was in her mid-thirties with pale skin and maroon eyes that looked almost red under the florescent lights. At the sight of him her red lips twisted into a frown.

"You're late!" Kurenai snapped.

The detective just chuckled scratched the back of his head, "Aw, come on, cut me some slack. I am your fiancé after all," he said, leaning in for a kiss. But Kurenai dodged him and walked through another set of doors, leaving Asuma to follow her. "No, we have a strict schedule, I still have a lot of work to do."

The morgue was sterile and clean and on the table under a bright light was the victim Yugito Nii, she was covered by a white sheet that covered her up to her face. There were a few metal bowls that Asuma saw held the organs that had been removed before. It seemed Kurenai had separated them. On a tray next to her were sets of medical tools that made the detective sweat, the bonesaw today looked especially sharp and lethal.

"Okay, okay," he conceded. "What can you tell me about her?"

Kurenai picked up a chart, "Well I can tell you that she fought, she had bruises all over her knuckles."

"She was a Tai Chi instructor."

Kurenai nodded, "That explains some of the injuries; she also has a small cut on her neck. I only found it after cleaning her body. It severed her carotid artery which stopped oxygenated blood reaching her brain, but she didn't die instantly..."

Asuma turned her, "So she was still alive then when they…"

"Unconscious, but yes, she would have still been alive for a little while."

The detective frowned, looking down at Nii's face, she did not have a quick death. "The organs…"

"Are hers, I found it odd however how they were removed."

"Odder than the fact that they were removed at all?"

She just gave him a sidelong look. "Yes, while the chest cavity was almost torn open, her ribs were more or less all broken, the actual organs were removed with care. Each cut out carefully. But we do have a few missing."

"Which ones?" he asked curiously, stepping closer to the body.

"Heart and eyes."

"They weren't in the pile?" he asked surprised. Kurenai shook her head and picked up her clipboard. "What could they want with the organs?"

"That's for you to figure out, detective," she said turning to him, holding out a file for him. "I'm only a medical examiner."

Asuma smiled, he reached for the file and before she could react, quickly pressed a kiss against her lips, ignoring the shocked gasp she gave and hurried out of the room. He would probably have to hear all about 'proper-work-environment-ethic ' later, but for now he would think about the tingling sensation on his lips and the heavy burden of the file in his hands. The first thought that came to mind was organ trafficking, corneas could go up to ¥21,000,000, and a good heart could be up to ¥109,200,000. It was a lucrative investment, and using some freak cult as a cover was the way to go.

Finding the organs was probably their best way to find Nii's murderer, but chances were that those organs were already buried in the black market. When he reached his desk Asuma placed the files on the table and slumped down on his seat with a heavy sigh. Forensics was backlogged so he still hadn't gotten any results back from them, all he could do was look over the pictures again and the strange bloody symbols drawn on the walls.

They didn't look familiar, it was not in any known Kanji or hiragana, although the symbols were written in such a sloppy, messy way that it could be just about anything. Asuma looked down at the pictures; the red just seemed to blur together in a terrible mess. With that much blood Asuma wondered if it all had been hers. The average body held about 5 litres of blood, from the messy cut up they did of Nii most of it had ended up around her; there didn't seem to be enough left to cover the rest of the building in writing.

He'd probably have to find some expert to tell him if the writing was real or fake.

He almost jumped when he felt a buzzing in his pants pocket, with a mumbled curse Asuma fumbled inside his trouser pocket to take out his phone. It was Sasuke; with a quick swipe across the screen he pressed the phone against his ear.

"How's the kid?" he asked.

"Not much… we talked for a bit, he had a panic attack so he's been sedated again, what do you have?"

He sighed, "Eyes and heart were missing, think it might be organ trafficking," Asuma replied.

"Hn…" the Uchiha grunted. "That's tricky."

"No one said it was easy."

"Hn…" there was silence on the other line. "Do you need me to come in?" Asuma couldn't help but chuckle, he could already hear the desperation in Sasuke's voice. He must be getting bored of being stuck on babysitting duty.

"No, you're fine. Just stay with the kid; we don't know if those guys are still after him. What information did you get from him?"

"I got his name, Uzumaki Naruto, 22, graduated from Joshiba University. He said that the only thing he remembered was going grocery shopping, then nothing. Got pretty freaked out when I said he was found in a room with a dead woman, that's why he was sedated again."

Asuma grumbled a few curses under his breath as he wrote the rest of the information on his pad, "You just said that all to him there and then? You gotta have some tact…"

"Hn…" was his only reply, and if Sasuke was in his room he could almost imagine that stupid almost smug face. He'd slap him silly if he could. "You better try and fix this, the kid could be in danger still, so try and make him feel comfortable. I'll go check him out and try to find his family."

"Hn," and the line went dead.

Oh, he could kill that boy.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Sasuke turned the phone off with a quick press with a smirk and pocketed his phone. He turned back to the blonde who was still asleep, he should probably take it slow on the blonde next time. The detective glanced at his now cold coffee with a disgusted frown and threw the remains in the sink, letting the water run to clean up the dregs. He then sat back down, taking out his phone to check his messages.

"Hey..."

His dark eyes widened in shock, and with some hesitation he turned to look at the not-so-unconscious blonde. The kid had his head turned to the side, staring at Sasuke with sleepy blue eyes, he couldn't believe it. He should be knocked out for the rest of the day, there was no way he should be awake.

"I didn't hurt anyone, did I?" he asked, his voice thick and raspy with sleep.

Sasuke paused and slowly raised an eyebrow. "Do you think you did?"

Naruto frowned. "No... I don't... but I was found in the same room as her, I also don't remember what happened..." he trailed off, and slowly looked away from Sasuke.

"I think you're a victim, nothing else, "he replied, feeling the urge to keep the kid calm, he didn't want to upset him again.

The blonde gave a slow nod, "I want to call... someone."

"So do you have family, or maybe a next of kin, I can contact?"

The blonde closed his eyes and gave a low hum, "Godmother... Hashirama Tsunade, she's a priestess at Zenkokuji temple."

"A priestess? What about your parents?"

The blonde frowned and looked away. "They're dead, they died a long time ago."

Sasuke paused and nodded, he texted the priestess' name to Asuma so that he could contact her. No reason to push the kid further and drag up more painful memories. "Do you need anything?"

"...some water please," he replied.

Sasuke nodded and reached towards the end table where there was a jug of water and a cup with a straw inside. He poured some in and stood up, watching the blonde struggle to sit up; he hissed suddenly and then touched his stomach. Slowly he pushed the blanket down and pulled his gown aside and a loud gasp escaped him when he saw the spiral tattoo that adorned his abdomen, spiralling out from his belly button.

"What the fuck is this?!" he whispered out harshly. Looking down from his stomach and back to Sasuke. "What the hell is this on my stomach?!" he asked a little louder.

"I'm guessing you didn't always have a tattoo then..."

"Fucking hell, of course not!" he shouted, his restrained hand jingling against the frame. "Shit this hurts!" he hissed out when he leaned the wrong way.

"Just lie back down, I'll get a nurse," Sasuke ordered, he put the cup down and tried to push the blonde back onto the bed.

Naruto shook his head and pushed Sasuke away. "No, no, they'll just stick me with more needles, I don't need that," he replied.

The detective nodded and took a step back to give the kid some space. He still looked down at his stomach in panicked bewilderment. Sasuke had been right about one thing though, the tattoo had been fresh.

"Look, I need to take a photo of your tattoo."

"Why?" he asked.

"It might be evidence, whoever took you marked you; this might lead us to them."

Naruto frowned and looked down at his stomach, "Okay, just hurry up."

Sasuke took out his phone and instructed the blonde to lift his gown a bit more and lean back a bit. He quickly took a few snaps and told the blonde he was going to send them to his partner who would do the search. Naruto hurriedly pulled his gown back down and lifted his blanket up as far as he could. Sasuke felt a twitch in his gut, something he guessed was empathy; the blonde looked absolutely terrified, he tried to remember Asuma's words and be nice to the guy, he was a victim after all.

"Look you're safe here, those guys can't get you here," he tried to reassure, but Naruto turned to him, his blue eyes wide with fear. "How can you guarantee that?" he asked.

Sasuke gave him a confident look. "'Cause I'll be right here with you."

That seemed enough.

It took a while but he managed to convince Naruto to go back to asleep and actually try to rest. He got a text from Asuma saying that he managed to contact the blonde's godmother, and that she was on her way. Kurenai had also sent him Yugito Nii's autopsy report so that he could study it in detail, he had never seen a case where only eyes and a heart had been taken, there were many more vital organs that they had left behind, like the liver and kidneys. They might not be as pricy as a good heart, but money was money. It seemed like such a waste.

Then again, sometimes trying to figure out how the mind of some deranged psychos worked would drive you insane. Sometimes there was no reason for their actions.

He sighed and leaned back against the chair, this was a more difficult case than he could have ever imagined. Sasuke could already feel the weariness setting in; he had been up since 2 a.m, it was nearly 11 a.m now and he had barely gotten any sleep the night before with his nightmares. He was just starting to drift off when he heard loud stomping noises rushing towards their room door, and then he heard some commotion outside.

"Ma'm please calm down, you're disturbing the other patients!"

"Get out of my way, my godson is in one of these rooms!"

"You need to calm down!"

Wide awake now, Sasuke stood up and rushed towards the door opening it, only to stop stunned when he saw an older big-boobed blonde facing off against two nurses. It wasn't a scene he saw often, he would have found it funny if it weren't for the fact that the older woman looked like she was about to tear the two women in front of her apart, her honeyed eyes dark with anger. Sasuke took out his badge, hoping to diffuse the situation quickly. He glanced towards the bed wondering how the kid could sleep through this when everything else seemed to wake him so easily.

He sighed and turned his attention back to the situation. "Wait, I'm detective Uchiha Sasuke, what is going on here?!"

The women stopped and all turned to face him, the blonde woman strode towards him and spoke up. "I'm Hashirama Tsunade, I got a police call from a detective Sarotobi saying that my godson is here, I want to know where he is?!"

He should have guessed that, after all she was still dressed in her priestess garb and a hastily buttoned up coat. "Calm down ma'm, he's just here in this room sleeping."

She instantly calmed down and strode towards the room, her self-assured demeanour crumbling as soon as soon as she saw the sleeping blonde on the bed. Slowly she walked towards the younger man, her eyes landing on the restrains. "Why does he have that on his arm?" she asked, her voice quivering with barely suppressed rage.

"It was done for his own safety, I'll get one of the nurses to remove it-"

"Why was he restrained in the first place?!"

Sasuke paused, "...he woke up panicked and nearly attacked someone."

He noticed the whitening of her knuckles as she walked towards the bed, but she was gentle in her movements, she slowly moved some hair away from his face like a mother would. So he was surprised when he saw how swiftly she moved and slapped him over the head.

"BAKA!" she shouted, nearly knocking the boy out of his bed. He nearly tackled her, but was too stunned to move.

"Waa, obachan, not so rough!" came a whiny voice, and Naruto sat up a little giving the older woman a pained look. "I'm injured here!"

"Not injured enough you gaki, what the hell happened to you?!"

"I-" but she didn't let him finish and quickly turned to him. "When can I take this idiot home?"

"I'll... I'll ask the doctor..."

"Do that detective..."

He didn't move for a while, just looking between the two, worried about if he should leave them alone; and then he slowly turned to leave. Just before he went through the threshold, he saw the older woman engulf the younger in a bear hug. Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the sight, he then left to find the doctor and give them some privacy.

* * *

_Review and join the dark side we have cookies!_


	3. The Mark

_Hi everyone_

_I know it has been a long time since I have updated, but things have been a tough for me. I finished University and have been struggling ever since trying to get a job, keep drawing, and also have time to write. I try to my best to write and draw, but with no income on either it is very difficult for me to continue. So yes I am updating, it is just very slow._

_I do have a proposal to help with updates and also try and actually make a small amount of income. I would like to create a small manga, updated every 2 weeks. Something you could download and pay for, so that I can eat. I would update one chapter (20pg) 1 week and the one of the fanfictions the 2nd week, and so on. But the only way I can do this if enough people are willing to go along with it. I have put up a link on my profile to the first few test pages. You can decide from there if it is worth it, and PM me about any questions. I have put up a poll on my profile as well._

Edit: for some reason the link isn't showing up properly so I here it is, just take out the spaces: lilbakasaru. wordpress 2016 / 06 /12 /elysian-test-pages /

The poll will also be open longer, because the damn link didn't work.

_I will still update of course, but it will be slow, and will be based on when I have time. Hope you all enjoy this chapter._

_(unbetaed)_

* * *

Chapter 3: The mark

"Hashirama-san I would just like to advise you again that it might be best for your godson to at least stay overnight for observation-"

"Look here doctor, I respect your opinion but there is no way I'm leaving my godson _restrained_ in this place!"

"But Hashirama-san-"

"No, I'm taking my godson home, I can assure you that I can take care of him."

Naruto and Sasuke sat there and watched the doctor and Tsunade go back and forth between each other. They had been arguing for a while, Sasuke stayed only because he had promised the brat he would, but now he regretted it with every fibre of his being, as he watched those two squabble. So far though Tsunade was holding up step by step with the doctors, not giving an inch, and Sasuke watched how the man finally give in with a defeated sag of his shoulders.

"Okay, Hashirama-san, you can take him home, but I must ask that you at least-"

"I already told you doctor, I have nearly 40 years of medical experience under my belt, I can handle this. What I need you to is get these damn restrains off my godson and hand me those release forms to sign."

The doctor gave a final nod, and instructed a few nurses to get the necessary forms, and undo the padded restrains on Naruto hands and feet. The blonde gave relieved sigh, and rubbed the chaffed skin around his wrist in an uncomfortable gesture. There was a pile of new clean clothes on the bed, that the blonde picked up and then awkwardly shuffled into the bathroom with. Sasuke tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible not wanting to have Tsunade's wrath aimed at him but she already had him in her sights.

"Are you going to be staying with us detective?" she asked.

"For your godsons own safety it might be best that I stick around for now, I have already contacted the precinct for another officer to come replace me later."

Tsunade gave a thoughtful hum, "Ah, you're one of those types of then..."

Sasuke frowned, what did she mean by that?

Then just a few moments later a dishelmed Naruto came out of the bathroom. His clothes a mess from getting dressed quickly, he gave a confused look between them.

"Er... can we go now?"

Tsunade gave a nod and led the way out of the hospital room, Sasuke knew that all the staff members eyes were on them. Especially on Naruto, most of them curious some filled with fear, rumours about what happened at the crime scene with the blonde being the only survivor. They probably had the same thoughts he had, why was Naruto left alive and would there be someone else coming after him now?

They left the hospital and Sasuke saw a black car with an older man with wild white hair smoking a pipe. He was ogling some nurses who were having a smoke break under a shelter. Tsunade gave a snarl and before either of them could do something she ran over to the car and slapped the hood of it, startling the man inside.

"You perverted idiot, stop staring at those nurses and get the car started. We have to get a move on, Naruto needs to get some rest." She then turned to look at him. "You got a car detective?"

"Er... yes, I'll just follow you."

She nodded and stepped inside the front seat of the car while Naruto got into the back. Sasuke sighed and went to his car and buckled himself in. He tightened his grip on the wheel and wondered what type of situation he had gotten himself into.

The drive was long, out of the city and into a more rural part of the region, they drove along a long stretch of road with big trees surrounding the area. Soon Sasuke saw a temple come into view, it was large temple, towering high. He was instantly reminded of the Uchiha compound, and the large ornate temple that had stood there. Although it this one was smaller and didn't have the same oppressive feel his that surrounded his childhood home. They drove past the temple, further down the road, were the Miko obviously lived.

Sasuke felt strange being back in such an environment, hadn't been near a shrine or temple since the incident. He had tried to distance himself with anything connecting him to his families work, this especially involved visiting a temple.

They drove along a long a winding path that took them along the back of a forest area towards their actual home; which was just an average house. Yet what he found strange, was that by either side of the gate were two Kitsune statues, one holding a scroll and the other a key in his mouth. Sasuke was confused, because he was sure that Zenkokuji temple was not temple dedicated to Inari. Maybe they were collectors and repurposed these statutes, it wouldn't be the first time that has happened.

The car in front pulled to a stop and Sasuke pulled up behind them. He got out of the car and went towards the others who were getting out of their own car. The blonde kid stumbled out, looking groggy and tired, it seemed like he was about to fall down but the older man caught him just in time.

"Wohaa, kid, let's get you to bed before you collapse," he said loudly and led the sleepy blonde inside the house.

Tsunade then turned to him. "Well come in then detective, I'll make some tea."

Sasuke wanted to say that there wasn't a need, that he was here to work, that is until another officer came to replace him; but she was already on her way inside without waiting a reply from him. He sighed again heavily and locked his car before he went inside. The house looked average, with a spacious living room with an old beige couch set and a coffee table, there was a book shelf in the corner, filled to the brim with old books. On the far side of the wall a small tv, on a stand with more books underneath.

A wide window dominated one side of the wall, it let in a lot of lights, and you could see a well maintained garden. The windowsill was lined with several pictures, most them Sasuke noticed being of Naruto when he was younger. He had been a cute kid growing up, with a cheery smile, chubby cheeks, and bright blue eyes. He also noticed in most of those pictures Naruto was either on his own or with Tsunade, which meant it was probably his godfather taking those pictures. Another thing he noticed that there were also a few more kitsune carvings scattered around.

"Sit down detective, " Tsunade said from behind him, a tray with tea and a plate of biscuits. She put the tray down on the coffee table, and Sasuke took a seat on the two seater while the Tsunade sat down on the arm chair.

The leather squeaked underneath him as he tried to get comfortable. Tsunade poured him some tea, and offered it to him while she made her own, he didn't like sugar so he drank it as it was.

"So you are a Uchiha?" she started.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted between sips.

"Of the shinto Uchiha's?"

Sasuke paused and looked up at the miko, who regarded him with a coolly.

"It isn't a secret," he replied. The Uchiha's had been a well known spiritualist sect, one of the 13 families. Normally the average person would not really have linked his name to the sect, but Tsunade as a miko would have obviously have made the connection.

Tsunade hummed in agreement and took a sip of her drink, "It's just strange to see an Uchiha work in law enforcement."

"Following in the family footsteps doesn't seem like a good option."

Tsunade put her cup down, "Apologies, I don't mean to be so crude. I knew your father he was..."

"A cruel bastard," Sasuke replied nonchalantly.

Tsunade smiled. "I was going to say strict, but I guess that s true. He never took no for an answer."

"You knew my father personally then?"

"Of course, our sects were tied together not too long ago. As head priestess of the Namikaze clan I had met him...and your brother."

Now that was one topic he did not want to talk about, especially with a complete stranger. "Hashirama-san please, I'm not here to discuss what happened all those years ago, I am here about your godson."

"Of course, the brat still hasn't told me what happened to him," she said putting her cup down.

"I don't want to go into too much detail, but we found him at a crime scene drugged, and covered in strange symbols."

"What symbols?"

"We don't know, but... they were painted on with the other victims blood..."

"Other victim? Someone died?" she asked, visibly shocked.

Sasuke nodded and took out his phone from his jacket pocket, he unlocked it and looked for the cleaned up image of Nii, to show to her. "Her name was Yugito Nii, do you by any chance know her?"

Tsunade took the phone off him so that she look at the picture better, her eyes widened and she quickly handed the phone back to Sasuke. "I'm sorry detective, I don't know her," she said, her voice slightly cracking.

Sasuke knew she was lying obviously she knew who Yugito Nii was, but why was denying it for some reason. He wanted to probe her further but was pretty sure that she wouldn't tell him anything. There had be another way he could get the information out of her, then he remembered the tattoo.

"Then have you by any chance seen this symbol before? It was tattooed onto your godsons stomach," he said showing her the photo he had taken before of Naruto's stomach.

She took the phone off him once again, and her eyes widened in shock when she saw the swirling pattern on her godson's skin. She dropped the phone on the table and then ran upstairs before Sasuke could do anything. He grabbed his phone of the table and went to follow her.

"Jiraiya we have a problem!" she shouted, rushing up the steps with Sasuke close behind.

The older white haired man came out of a room looking confused, "What is it Tsunade?"

"He's got the mark!" she shouted, gripping him tightly.

"What? What are you talking about?" he asked.

"The release seal, _**they**_ put it on him," she hissed out.

Jiraiya cursed under his breath and went inside another room, Sasuke was confused at what was going on. What kind of seal were they talking about who were _they_? "Hashirama-san what is going on?"

Tsunade stopped and turned to look at him as if she just realised that Sasuke was still here. "Detective..." she whispered. Her demure suddenly changed as she composed herself. "You can leave now Detective Uchiha, I'll make sure my godson is safe."

But Sasuke was not going to budge, "Hashirama-san, you need to tell me what is going on, this is murder investigation and it involves your godson!" he replied firmly.

Tsunade rounded on him, Sasuke may be tall, but she had two quiet imposing 'assets' that caused him to take a step back. "This does not concern you Detective, this is a clan matter which you are not a part of."

"Hashimara-san-"

"Please leave!" she with a tone of finality.

Sasuke paused, but knew he couldn't stay any longer and left the house, he had some research of his own to do.

* * *

Tsunade didn't breath until she heard the front door close, she then quickly hurried to Naruto room where Jiraiya was already there crouching over the passed-out blonde. She stepped closer to his, and realised that the older man was mutter something his breath, he was reading something from an unfurled scroll. Naruto stomach was exposed, the swirling tattoo standing out stark against his tanned skin. Jiraiya's hands started to glow unnaturally as his mutterings got louder, suddenly with a shout he pushed his fingers against Naruto stomach and the blonde screamed as the mark on his stomach stared to glow red.

Steam, and the smell of something burning filled the room as Jiriaya's fingers seared into Naruto's skin, and when they pulled away a set of writing formed like a ring surrounding the already existent whirlpool tattoo.

Jiraiya let out a tired breath and wiped his hand across his brow to swipe off the sweat, he collapsed onto the floor but Tsunade was there too steady him. They both stared at the passed out blonde in worry, slowly the miko let the man go and went towards Naruto. She stared at the new mark on his stomach with trepidation.

"Will it hold?" she asked.

Jiraiya breathed heavily, "It will hold for now, but we got a bigger problem."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "We need to warn the others, Akatsuki is on the move again."

* * *

_Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, review and join the dark side we have cookies!_


	4. More blood

_Hello everyone. Another chapter done, and nothing has been answered! Hope you all still enjoy._

_(unbetaed)_

* * *

Chapter 4: More blood

Uchiha Sasuke had to deal with a lot of road blocks in his life, being a detective it was common. Usually they were political, but this was the first time he was being barred from researching a temple.

"Sarotobi-sama, this isn't right I need access to those files, I know that the temple is linked to the murder of Yuugito Nii," he stated with frustration.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was the commissioner general of the National Police agency, that he had to go all the way to the top to get access was just ridiculous. But asking his own chief had been pointless, then he went to superintendent, the commissioner and he was here. He had been fobbed off, slighted and given the run around, they were a week into their investigation and were getting absolutely nowhere. All he needed was access to Zenkokuji temple or at least family that managed it; but none of his supervisors seemed to see his point of view. The only reason he even managed to see Commissioner general was because the older man was a relative of his partner.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was in his late 70's, his skin was tanned and set with deep wrinkles around his eyes. His hair was white with age and thinning just slightly over his scalp, he kept it short but trim and he sported a goatee. Lastly two small dark moles were on his right cheek, giving the older man a distinctive look. The similarities between him Asuma were plain to see, to anyone who knew them.

"Detective Uchiha I understand your dissatisfaction, but this has to be handled delicately. If we are seen harassing the family of a victim it will be very bad press for us, and you know that the public has a negative opinion of us," he replied with a sigh.

"But Commissioner-"

But Sarutobi held up his hand to stop him. "I know what you were going to say Uchiha, and I agree it is urgent, and while I cannot give you access to the temple or family, you can have a talk to the young man. He is a material witness, and therefore you have the right to talk to him," he said with a small smile.

Sasuke instantly understood what Sarutobi was saying, as long as he could talk to Naruto it meant that he could get a chance to further investigate that place. He nodded to the older man left his office, and went down stairs to the parking garage were his car was parked. He got in and the checked his phone noticing he had a missed message from Asuma. He quickly pressed redial and held the phone to his ear. It rang a few times, and then his partner picked up.

"Fuck Uchiha where are you? There's been another body."

"Another body?" He asked putting on his seat belt.

"May be the same M.O as Nii..."

"Okay where are you?" he asked putting the phone into the charging dock.

Asuma gave him the address that he put into his GPS and started driving. The location was Ueno park, a more public area than the abandoned building Yuugito Nii had been found. Although Ueno park was an area of many attraction like shrines, natural attractions, a zoo, and museums; but it was also a place where a lot of gangs roamed the area. When Sasuke was still doing patrol he had busted so many punks, pushing drugs, mugging, and prostitution. At night Ueno became a different place. He pulled his car up nest to a patrol car and realised that the location was near the Kaneiji Temple, Sasuke continued to walk through the forest following the line of police barriers and crime scene techs running around.

It was a small back-way path that looked like it was used as a hiking path. It was hidden away and obscured by trees, and the only way to actually know about this path would have been if had walked it before. Sasuke reached a cordoned off area, and looked around there for Asuma. He spotted the older man standing not too far away, coffee in hand talking to an officer with a notepad. He showed the guard his badge and went under the barrier to meet his partner.

"Asuma what do we have?" he asked.

The man looked towards him, his expression grim. "I'll show you," he nodded his head towards tree line, Sasuke followed him as he was led to an equipment shed.

The door was opened, and tech in a white body jumpsuit rushed out of structure towards the edge of the crime scene to puke. Now that was bad, normally crime scene techs could handle the gore better than the average officer. The closer he got to the shed the better he could smell the rancid smell of decay coming off, this was not a fresh crime scene. He took the face mask that Asuma handed him and looked inside the mess.

His eyes widened at the sight in front of him, unlike Nii, this time it was young man, and unlike her, this body was nailed to the shed wall like he was crucified. The guy looked young, maybe no older than 17, he was pale with a blue tinge to his skin. Light grey hair fell over his face, and Sasuke knew that with some trepidation that his eyes would be missing. The chest was pried open again, showing that the cavity is empty, looking around the room he saw a pile of rotting organs under the body.

"Eyes were missing again," Asuma commented, Sasuke just nodded.

"Do we have an ID?" he asked.

Asuma nodded and took out a plastic baggy that a wallet inside. "Just like last time the killer made no effort in hiding his victims identity. This is 23 year old Kiri Yagura, unemployed."

23? Now this had the raven stumped, this guy looked so young and child like. A closer inspection of the body showed that the nails used to pin it to the shed were with railroad spikes. There were at least three on each arm, punctured right through the bone, and another two nailed through his top of his feet and into the wood behind it. Yet there wasn't a lot of blood, there should be more blood around the body. Had they cleaned the body?

Sasuke didn't voice his concern, instead he looked around the room and noticed that the this place just like the abandoned building in Kubukichi was filled with bloody unreadable writing. Sasuke couldn't look at the room anymore, and turned around and tried to think.

"This crime scene is old."

Asuma nodded, "Yeah, maybe two days +."

"Why was the body not discovered earlier?"

"This is temples equipment shed, the monk only comes around here maybe twice a week so it wasn't noticed until now."

Sasuke nodded and started looking around the perimeter thoughtfully. Unlike their previous crime scene this place gave the murderer seclusion, but whoever did this must have known the monks cleaning schedule to time it right.

"Have you questioned the monk?"

"He's 87 years old I don't think it was him," Asuma replied with a self-deprecating chuckle. "You know Ueno has never really been that safe of an area, but I'm starting to think that this place being called 'demon's gate' may be the correct name for... hey, where are you going Uchiha?" he shouted noticing that the other man was walking away from him.

Sasuke wasn't listening his attention was taken by something just beyond the barrier. Ignoring what Asuma was saying he walked under the police cordon to a tree, that looked like it was leaking a lot of sap, but there wasn't enough light coming from the trees for him to see what it was properly. He fumbled through his pocket, and took out his phone quickly pressing the flashlight function and shined it onto the smear. It was suspiciously red in colour. Rooting through his pockets he got out a clean tissue, and wiped it across the stain and brought it to his nose. It smelled metallic.

"I've got blood here!" he shouted, gaining everyone's attention.

Quickly Asuma and someone in a white jumpsuit came where he was.

"You found more blood?!" Asuma asked, Sasuke nodded and showed him the tree.

The tech started taking scrapings from the tree, and another came to photograph and label the new found evidence. Sasuke meanwhile looked around, his sharp eyes instantly noticed another tree smeared with blood. He nodded to Asuma who followed him, instructing the techs to take samples as they went. It was like a parody of Hansel and Gretel, but instead of following bread crumbs they were following a trail of blood.

"These aren't just random smears of blood, I think it's the same damn symbols that are all over the cabin," Asuma commented studying the smears.

"Did you find out what they mean yet?" he asked as he continued to follow.

The older detective shook his head as he instructed an officer to make drawings of the symbols. "No but I have a cryptologist or something coming in a few days."

Sasuke nodded his head, and kept following the strange markings from tree to tree, until he noticed one tree, that had a long white strip of paper nailed too it with a rusted railroad spike.

"Well this is new?" Asuma commented looking at this new clue.

Sasuke didn't know what to say, but that was definitely a shinto talisman, he had seen many of those before when he was younger. Only this one instead of being written in black ink, it was red like blood. He took a step closer, but a squelching sound mad him stop. Sasuke tsked and lifted his right leg thinking he stepped in some mud, instead he saw a very familiar sight on his shoe, blood. He frowned, and looked at the ground in front him. He grimaced at the sight.

"I think we may have found our primary crime scene."

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Naruto felt tired, he had been feeling tired ever since he had come back from the hospital. It was not just physical, but also mental. There hadn't been a night since he got out of hospital that he hadn't had a nightmare. Naruto didn't even know what they were, only that it caused him to wake up every night drenched in sweat and out of breath like he was running from something. He didn't tell Tsunade and Jiraiya what was happening to him, they were worrying enough without him adding to it.

He sighed again, taking a deep breath and shook his head to wake himself up. He had to get ready and help the old lady clean the temple and manage the garden. So the blonde got out of bed, and went to take a shower. He stepped in the bathroom and took off his shirt, and bottoms throwing the garments into the hamper, avoiding looking at the large bathroom mirror and reflection of the mark on his stomach. He hurried into the shower and washed himself vigorously with cold water hoping he could wake himself up. He then dried himself and brushed his teeth, before leaving the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and went back to his room to get dressed.

Tsunade was already downstairs making breakfast, the old man was nowhere to be seen, probably already out by the temple setting things up. His godmother looked up when she heard him coming down.

"Have a good night brat?" she asked, setting down several plates of traditionally cooked food on the table.

"Yeah Baa-chan I slept like a baby!" he replied back cheerfully, and quickly got cuffed on the back of his head.

"Don't call me Baa-chan, brat. Now eat I will meet you at the temple. Remember to get the polishing spray out," she finished and left the room so that the blonde could eat.

Naruto ate quickly, and went inside the cleaning cupboard to take out the all the cleaning equipment. Went he stepped out of the house, Naruto was surprised by how bright it was. He squinted down at the path in front of him, the path forked into two, one leading down into the main drive while the other was a small short-cut leading to the back of the temple. He put his things down, picked out the dust cloth and the furniture polish; and got a start on the statues and frames to a high sheen. Next he got out the broom, and started clearing out the dead leaves from the stone court yard, and then mopping the wooden floor of the temple.

By the time he was done, Tsunade had come carrying with two large glass of cold lemonade and some onigiri on a tray. "Brat time for a break!" she shouted putting the tray down on the porch. She was wearing her full miko robes.

Naruto put his drying cloth down with the rest of the stuff and joined his godmother on the porch. It was then he realised that he hadn't seen Jiraiya all day.

"Ne, baa-chan where's the pervert? He left early again today," actually Naruto hadn't seen the older man in a long while. He left early in the morning and would come back late at night. Naruto knew at least that old man came home since he heard the familiar noise of the car engine pulling into the drive late at night.

"Huh, oh him," she said taking a bite out of her onigiri. "He's helping out at another temple as an advisor."

"Advisor?! _Him_?!" Naruto couldn't help but exclaim. "What is he advising them on, how to peep on women at the onsen?" he couldn't help but snort.

Tsunade gave a short laugh, and leaned back against pillar. "You may be right brat, but that's what he told me..."

The blonde arched an eyebrow, this was not the normal reaction from his godmother. The old man and her had an odd relationship. They had known each other since childhood and followed into the family footsteps by entering the temple. Although it was obvious that Tsunade and Jiraiya where head-over-heels in love with each other they never married. Maybe it was because Jiraiya was a pervert, and loved to flirt to pretty girls; or maybe it was because Tsunade loved her independence and hated the idea of someone tying her down.

Naruto didn't know, but he didn't question their relationship. Whatever they had it worked for them.

Saying that though.

His godmother's behaviour right now was odd, she was too calm and relaxed. Usually anything to do with the old pervert would have her grumpy, especially when he was gone for so long. Tsunade was known for her temper. Naruto thought about bringing it up but thought better of it. He rather not get cuffed around the head again, she packed a mean slap.

They finished lunch, and Naruto went inside the temple while Tsunade took the tray back inside the house. He was putting some new flowers into the vases, and was on his way to the garden to throw away the leaves into the compost, when he saw two people approaching the temple.

One was tall, with a long black hair that was parted down the middle. His skin was pale, but his eyes were bright almost like two silver coins. He wore formal clothing, a black unbuttoned blazer, a white shirt underneath, finished with black skinny jeans and boots. The other was a few inches shorter with wild bright red hair. His eyes were green like jade, tanned skin, and just peeking out from on the right side of his forehead, from beneath his red hair was bright red tattoo, that was the kanji for 'love'.

Both came to the temple with purpose and Naruto couldn't help but think that they were actually very intimidating. But he had to greet visitors, it would be rude if he didn't. So he took a deep breath and plastered on a smile to meet the new guest.

"Welcome to Zenkokuji temple, if you will wait a few minutes service will start. You are more than welcome to look around the garden until then."

"Uzumaki Naruto?" the dark haired man asked.

Naruto was confused at how the guy knew his name. He didn't look familiar at all. "Er... yes? How can I help you?"

The red head stepped forward, his green eyes staring into Naruto own sky blue. "We been looking for you," he said with a deep voice that sent shivers down the blonde's spine.

Naruto did not feel well.

* * *

_Review and join the dark side, we have cookies! _


End file.
